Workplaces: sensor technology

Knowledge is power

Recent years have seen the so-called
‘internet of things’ (IoT) – the network of objects able to collect and
exchange data – gain more and more prominence. This IoT still promises some
very exciting developments, however.

There remain many untapped
possibilities for connecting devices and even ‘dumb’ objects; the phenomenon is
only just beginning. We are on the road to a point at which everything will
have a chip and be connected. From then on, the technology will settle in as we
realise where IoT connection is most transformative.

Sensor technology, part of the IoT
revolution, is on a similar journey. Right now, it is in its infancy in terms
of capacity. Nonetheless, the solutions it provides for facilities managers are
fast gaining recognition.

Occupancy monitoring has become a mainstream part of real estate management

Insight

Sensor technology is now having its
biggest impact by providing a uniquely accurate insight into office
utilisation. Occupancy monitoring has become a mainstream part of real estate
management after a period in which multiple technologies have attempted to
provide a solution with greater and lesser degrees of success. For instance,
there has been some work in ‘IP-sniffing’, that is, tracking people’s location
in a building by monitoring their laptop network connection.

Sensors themselves have had a range of
applications, such as tracking footfall through different areas or sensing
movement through turnstiles. All of these technologies have been around for
some time, but have encountered problems such as unreliability and inaccurate
data, as well as ethical challenges as the boundary between measuring occupancy
and analysing behaviour has been blurred.

Now, the advent of IoT and of
low-cost, wifi-enabled sensing devices has added a dimension to the existing
range of technologies being used to understand building utilisation. The impact
of sensor technology is only set to increase as the ability to embed these
devices in desks and meeting rooms is supported by ever-advancing software,
which interprets the rich, accurate data these sensors are returning.

Sensors themselves have now been
developed to a near-optimum point: they are cheap enough to be feasibly rolled
out across an office, discreet, and have a battery life of 10 years. They are
capable of collecting data second by second, down to the level of individual
desks.

This knowledge is power. Once you can
understand working practices with this level of accuracy and know how current
occupants are using a space, it becomes significantly easier to design for
future occupants.

Intelligent systems

Yet the transformational potential of
these sensors lies in the system to which they are linked. The potential for
intelligent buildings, which can start learning how they are being used and
adapt the space accordingly, relies on the power of the software in the cloud.

This software makes sense of the data,
turning raw numbers into intelligent solutions. There is a long way to go, but
the IoT is certainly moving towards the state of artificial intelligence; even
within the next 5 years, we will be seeing sensors linked to software systems
capable of turning static buildings into dynamic workplaces.

In this way, sensors can feed into the
connected office, with all the possibilities this presents. Occupancy sensors
provide data that can be accessed by users at multiple interfaces. They can see
in real time whether a meeting room or desk is being used from screens around
the building or their mobile phone.

The sensors can even enter into
dialogue with individual employees, alerting them to a free desk or enquiring
whether they intend to return to a vacated desk that day. The future of sensor
technology is not all about big data: once the office is connected, the live
insights become important, enabling better navigation of the workspace by its
users on a day-to-day basis.

As trends for flexible working
continue, the workplace is becoming more rather than less complicated for the
individual employee. Sensor technology is increasingly capable of simplifying
their experience and will continue to make buildings more responsive to their
occupants.

Privacy

The only limit to what these
technologies can achieve depends on how far we consider them an invasion of
privacy. The ethical standards with which facilities management professionals work
are very clear. For property managers, the chief and indeed only concern should
be the performance of the building.

The
line between measuring utilisation of workspace and monitoring people’s
behaviour is one that must be clearly emphasised and strictly maintained

Facilities managers are not HR
professionals, and their ethical framework depends on this distinction. The
line between measuring utilisation of workspace and monitoring people’s
behaviour is one that must be clearly emphasised and strictly maintained. Sensor
technology enables this distinction by collecting data in which individual users
remain anonymous.

In order to progress sensor
technology, property professionals responsible for implementing it must ensure
that this distinction is properly understood.

Facilities management professionals
need the soft skills to communicate clearly that, while monitoring a desk,
employers are not monitoring behaviour. The reason that sensor technology is
installed in a building is to make the workplace responsive to the increasingly
flexible working habits of employees.

Individuals are to a very large extent
in favour of the connected office and the benefits it brings, and for this
reason they tend to respond positively to effective communication about
sensors. The ability to communicate this message well is crucial to the success
of sensor technology.

Future skills

Since sensor technology is designed to
be as intuitive as possible, the technological skills demanded of property professionals
are limited. Most make use of consultants and vendors who provide expert
technical support and data analytics. While a basic awareness of data analytics
helps the process of implementing sensor insight, the most important
characteristic for these professionals is the recognition that user experience
is central to their role. Sensor technology is not about building the most efficient
office, but about a creating a workspace that operates in the style that users
need. In efforts to create a building that can adapt to people’s use of it,
sensor technology is not optional but fundamental.